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Republican National Coalition for Life Chairman Phyllis Schlafly Responds to Cardinal George's "GOP never had a soul" Comments
(RNC www.rnclife.org) The Chicago Sun Times (4/8/04) reported that Cardinal Francis George, in an appearance before the City Club of Chicago, addressed the subject of abortion politics. During his remarks, he said, "One could say, as I have, that the Democratic Party has lost its soul. . . One could also argue that the Republican Party never had a soul."
Below is Mrs. Schlafly's response to those comments.
To His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. Archbishop of Chicago, 155 East Superior Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611
Your Eminence,
Press reports of your appearance at the April 7, 2004 City Club of Chicago luncheon where, in commenting on abortion politics, you said: "One could say, as I have, that the Democratic Party has lost its soul. . . . One could also argue that the Republican Party never had a soul," have caused considerable consternation among Catholic pro-lifers who have worked for the past 34 years to promote pro-life public policy and to create, protect and defend the pro-life platform plank in the Republican National Platform and also in state Republican platforms throughout the nation.
Having organized hundreds of thousands of pro-life Republicans into a force sufficient to repel attacks on our principled pro-life plank by the abortion industry and its allies in the media, I can assure you that every single one of our people has a heart and soul full of unselfish commitment to the cause of life. While some wealthy and prominent individuals and groups in our Party are anti-life, the big majority of grassroots Republicans and Republican public officials are pro-life. We work hard to hold all Republican officials accountable to the Republican Party's pro-life principles, and we rejoice that every Republican Platform since Roe vs. Wade has taken a strong pro-life stand.
Page 26 of the 2000 Republican National Platform called "Renewing America's Purpose Together" says, in part, "We say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life."
This is official Republican Party policy. It is in striking contrast to the Democratic Party's Platform which states that abortion should be legal at any time, for any reason, performed by any one, paid for by the taxpayers. In compliance with this policy, the Democratic Party leadership in the Senate has resorted to extraordinary procedures to prevent the confirmation of any federal judge who might be suspected of being critical of Roe v. Wade.
On the issue of abortion, there is no moral equivalency between the official positions of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party adopted in national conventions.
Our work is not easy, especially because of the hundreds of so-called Catholic politicians who support pro-abortion public policies and laws and do so with impunity, without criticism from the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, with a few notable exceptions. But we remain steadfast in our pursuit of justice for the unborn, and we work persistently as best we can through the Republican Party which, after all, proved it had a soul when it was founded a century and a half ago on the principle that no human being should be considered the property of another.
Despite the "belly laughs and applause" of many Democrats attending the City Club luncheon, your comment was hurtful to the thousands of pro-life Republican volunteers, all with a soul, who read about them in the April 8, 2004 edition of the Chicago Sun Times and then through numerous e-mails and faxes.
We are currently preparing for the 2004 Republican National Convention Platform hearings in New York where every pro-abortion advocate both inside and outside of the Republican Party is expected to demonstrate and promote their agenda. Perhaps you and others among your fellow bishops would like to learn more about the history of the pro-life movement within the Republican Party. I enclose a copy of the RNC/Life brochure, "The Republican Party is the Pro-Life Party," for your review.
Respectfully, Phyllis Schlafly, National Chairman, Republican National Coalition for Life,
By: Phyllis Schlafly
Source: Republican National Coalition for Life
Publish Date: May 7, 2004
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